Yesterday on Facebook, a friend posted
The #1 song on your 12th birthday is the official theme for your life
That makes my “official theme” is Oh, Girl by the Chi-Lites. It’s a great song, I don’t know that it sums up my life, although my ego would like to think my husband would be in trouble if he left me.
What was your favorite song when you were younger? What was it you liked about it? The words? The melody? Your favorite band wrote and performed it? Is it still your favorite?
Different songs appeal to us at various times in our lives. A love song when romance is new, a sad song when our hearts are breaking, perhaps a song that expresses a feeling in a way we had never considered before. They define us in that moment, but they don’t sum up our lives.
Similarly, our past doesn’t define us, it informs us. It tells us where we’ve been, not who we are. The tapestry of our lives is woven from the threads our families of origin, our friends, our education, which interests and hobbies we’ve pursued.
There are also unseen elements such as synchronicity, who the Universe has put in our path. And our ancestors, people who ensured that we made it to earth, sometimes at great personal peril—the grandmother who gave her baby up for adoption or the great-grandfather who emigrated from a war-torn or impoverished country.
We can lean into the support of our ancestors and recognize that our success has as much to do with them as ourselves. Without them, without the legacy of our families, without the lessons we carry in our DNA, we wouldn’t be who we are, wouldn’t, in fact, exist. When we celebrate where we came from, ancient energy surges through us. Are we willing to recognize, with gratitude, the sacrifices made by our ancestors?
The legacies passed down to us are not all infinite light and love. Alcoholism, suicide, divorce, joblessness are also inherited. But a tapestry woven from one color thread isn’t rich and interesting. Can we to look at the legacy our families left us, regardless of how we feel about them?
This week take a moment to sit in quiet introspection. What legacy are you leaving for your children’s children’s children? Is there family karma that needs to be cleared? Invite your ancestors to join you. Ask them what lessons you need to learn and which you came here to teach.
You might also want to ask which song is your official theme. You may find that they have quite a sense of humor!